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Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
|country= |allegiance= |branch= |type= Army |role= Land warfare |website= |size=150,000 active personnel |command_structure= Japan Self-Defense Forces |garrison= Ichigaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan |garrison_label= |nickname= |patron= |motto= |colours= Red, White and Gold |colours_label= |march = |mascot = |equipment= |equipment_label= |battles= |anniversaries= |decorations= |battle_honours= |commander1= PM Shinzō Abe |commander1_label= Prime Minister of Japan |commander2= Takeshi Iwaya |commander2_label= Minister of Defense |commander3= General Kōji Yamazaki |commander3_label= Chief of Staff, Joint Staff |commander4= General Gorō Yuasa |commander4_label= Chief of the Ground Staff |notable_commanders= |identification_symbol_2= |identification_symbol_2_label= Emblem }} The , JGSDF, also referred to as the Japanese Army,https://japan-forward.com/how-to-secure-japan-put-premium-on-jsdf-personnel-more-than-hardware/ is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three services branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct the Japan Self-Defense Forces away from their Cold War focus on the Soviet Union to a new focus on China, especially in respect of the dispute over the Senkaku Islands. The JGSDF operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo. The present chief of staff is General . The JGSDF numbered around 150,000 soldiers in 2008.IISS Military Balance 2008, Routledge, London, 2008. p.384 History 20th Century Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration in 1945, and, in compliance with Article 9, the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy were dismantled. Both were replaced by the United States Armed Forces occupation force, which assumed responsibility for the external defense of Japan. Despite MacArthur and the SCAP's strict insistence on Japan having no military or self defence by constitution, Japanese prime minister Hitoshi Ashida amended article 9 of the constitution to allow the creation of military forces in Japan which would operate under the name of self-defence forces. The ground, naval and air self-defence forces all originate from this amendment, rendering the occupation's desire for a demilitarised Japan rather moot. Under the terms of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, United States forces stationed in Japan were to deal with external aggression against Japan while Japanese forces, both ground and maritime, would deal with internal threats and natural disasters. Accordingly, in mid-1952, the National Police Reserve (formed in 1950) was expanded to 110,000 men and named the National Safety Forces.Frank Kowalski, An Inoffensive Rearmament: The Making of the Postwar Japanese Army , Naval Institute Press, 2014, p.72 In 1952 the National Police Reserve was renamed as the National Safety Force. Japan continued to improve its defensive capabilities. On July 1, 1954, the National Security Board was reorganized as the Defense Agency, and the National Security Force was reorganized afterwards as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air force), with General Keizō Hayashi appointed as the first Chairman of Joint Staff Council—professional head of the three branches. The enabling legislation for this was the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act No. 165 of 1954. For a long period, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force possessed a dubious ability to hold off a Soviet invasion of Hokkaido. Zbigniew Brzezinski observed in 1972 that it seemed optimized to fight "a Soviet invasion conducted on American patterns of a quarter of a century ago."Zbigniew Brzezinski, The Fragile Blossom (Harper, 1972) p.95, in James H. Buck, ‘The Japanese Military in the 1980s, in James H. Buck (ed.), The Modern Japanese Military System, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills/London, 1975, p.220 While the force is now an efficient army of around 150,000,IISS 2010, pp. 408–411 its apparent importance had, until recently, seemingly declined with the end of the Cold War, and attempts to reorient the forces as a whole to new post Cold War missions have been tangled in a series of internal political disputes. 21st Century On March 27, 2004, the Japan Defense Agency activated the Special Operations Group with the mandate under the JGSDF as its Counter-terrorist unit. In 2015, the Japanese Diet passes a law that allowed for the reinterpretation of Article 9 of the constitution. JSDF personnel train with the American forces in amphibious assault units designed to take outlying islands. Japan activated its first marine unit since World War II on April 7, 2018. The marines of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade are trained to counter invaders from occupying Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea.Kubo, Nobuhiro Japan activates first marines since WW2 to bolster defenses against China . April 7, 2018. Reuters. Retrieved August 2, 2018 British troops of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) exercised together for the first time with Japanese GSDF soldiers in Oyama, Shizuoka prefecture on 2 October, 2018. This also marked the first time in history that foreign soldiers other than Americans exercised on Japanese soil. The purpose was to improve their strategic partnership and security cooperation. Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders said that Japan won't have to fight alone. The JGSDF and the Indian Army conducted their first joint military exercise in the Indian state of Mizoram from 27 October to 18 November 2018. It's primarily anti-terror drills and improving bilateral cooperation with 60 Japanese and Indian officers. In March 2019, the Ministry of Defense will establish its first regional cyber protection unit in the Western Army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) to safeguard defense communications from cyber attacks. Such as for personnel deployed on remote islands with no established secure lines. The Japanese government approved the first ever JSDF dispatch to a peacekeeping operation that's not lead by the United Nations. Two JGSDF officers will monitor a cease-fire between Israel and Egypt at the Multinational Force and Observers command in the Sinai peninsula from 19 April till 30 November 2019. Current deployment Personnel In 1989, basic training for lower-secondary and upper-secondary academy graduates began in the training brigade and lasted approximately three months. Specialized enlisted and non-commissioned officer (NCO) candidate courses were available in branch schools and qualified NCOs could enter an eight-to-twelve-week officer candidate program. Senior NCOs and graduates of an eighty-week NCO pilot course were eligible to enter officer candidate schools, as were graduates of the National Defense Academy at Yokosuka and graduates of all four-year universities. Advanced technical, flight, medical and command and staff officer courses were also run by the JGSDF. Like the maritime and air forces, the JGSDF ran a youth cadet program offering technical training to lower-secondary school graduates below military age in return for a promise of enlistment. Because of population density and urbanization on the Japanese islands, only limited areas are available for large-scale training, and, even in these areas, noise restrictions are extensive. The JGSDF has adapted to these conditions by conducting command post exercises, map manoeuvres, investing in simulators and other training programs, as well as conducting live fire exercises overseas at locations such as the Yakima Training Center in the United States. The JGSDF has two reserve components: the rapid-reaction reserve component (即応予備自衛官制度) and the main reserve component (一般予備自衛官制度). Members of the rapid-reaction component train 30 days a year. Members of the main reserve train five days a year. As of December 2007, there were 8,425 members of the rapid-reaction reserve component and 22,404 members of the main reserve component.http://www.mod.go.jp/j/defense/mod-sdf/kousei/index.html Equipment Image:Type10MBT.jpg| Type 10 Main Battle Tank File:Firing Type 90 tank.jpg|Type 90 Main Battle Tank File:JGSDF Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle(26-6348) left front view at Camp Nihonbara October 1, 2017 02.jpg|Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle File:JGSDF_type_87_Self-Propelled_Anti-Aircraft_Gun_02.jpg|Type 87 Self-propelled Anti-aircraft Gun File:JGSDF APC Type 96 at JGSDF Camp Shimoshizu 02.jpg|Type 96 Armored Personnel Carrier File:Running JGSDF Type89 IFV at JGSDF Review of Troops.jpg|Type 89 Infantry Fighting Vehicle File:Japanese - Type 87 Scout - 1.jpg|Type 87 Armoured Recon and Patrol Vehicle File:AH-64D_%26_AH-1S.jpg|JGSDF AH-64D & AH-1S File:99式自走155mmりゅう弾砲_(8464256105).jpg|Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer File:Type_12_Surface-to-Ship_Missile.jpg|Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile Organisation Major Command * is headquartered in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture. It was reorganized from the Central Readiness Force on March 27, 2018. In wartime, it would take command of two to five armies. Armies * Northern Army, headquartered in Sapporo, Hokkaido * North Eastern Army, headquartered in Sendai, Miyagi * Eastern Army, headquartered in Nerima, Tokyo * Central Army, headquartered in Itami, Hyōgo * Western Army, headquartered at Kumamoto, Kumamoto Division JGSDF currently has 9 active duty divisions (1 armored, 8 infantry) * 1st Division, in Nerima. * 2nd Division, in Asahikawa. * 3rd Division, in Itami. * 4th Division, in Kasuga. * 6th Division, in Higashine. * 7th Division (7th Armored division), in Chitose. * 8th Division, in Kumamoto. * 9th Division, in Aomori. * 10th Division, in Nagoya. Brigade the JGSDF currently has 8 combat brigades: * 1st Airborne Brigade, at Camp Narashino in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture * 5th Brigade, at Camp Obihiro in Obihiro, responsible for the defense of North Eastern Hokkaidō * 11th Brigade, at Camp Makomanai in Sapporo, responsible for the defense of South Western Hokkaidō * 12th Brigade (Air Assault), at Camp Soumagahara in Shintō, responsible for the defense of Gunma, Nagano, Niigata and Tochigi prefectures. * 13th Brigade, in Kaita, responsible for the defense of the Chūgoku region. * 14th Brigade, in Zentsūji, responsible for the defense of Shikoku. * 15th Brigade, in Naha, responsible for the defense of Okinawa Prefecture * Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade JGSDF divisions and brigades are combined arms units with infantry, armored, and artillery units, combat support units and logistical support units. They are regionally independent and permanent entities. The divisions strength varies from 6,000 to 9,000 personnel. The brigades are smaller with 3,000 to 4,000 personnel. The JGSDF currently has 9 combat support brigades: * 1st Artillery Brigade, at Camp Kita Chitose in Chitose, Hokkaido Prefecture *'1st Helicopter Brigade', at Camp Kisarazu in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture * 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, at Camp Higashi in Chitose, Hokkaido Prefecture * 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, at Camp Iizuka in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture * 1st Engineer Brigade, at Camp Koga in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture * 2nd Engineer Brigade, at Camp Funaoka in Shibata, Miyagi Prefecture * 3rd Engineer Brigade, at Camp Eniwa in Eniwa, Hokkaidō Prefecture * 4th Engineer Brigade, at Camp Okubo in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture * 5th Engineer Brigade, at Camp Ogōri in Ogōri, Fukuoka Prefecture Other units *Other Units and Organizations **Material Control Command **Ground Research & Development Command **Signal Brigade **Military Police **Military Intelligence Command **Intelligence Security Command **Ground Staff College **Ground Officer Candidate School **Special Forces Group **Others , in March 2011.]] ]] Ranks Officers（幹部） Warrant Officer & Enlisted（准尉および曹士） See also *Japan Self-Defense Forces *Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group *Military ranks and insignia of the Japan Self-Defense Forces *Ministry of Defense (Japan) *''Maritime Operational Transport'' concept (Japan) *List of modern equipment of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force References External links *Japan Ground Self-Defense Force *Japan *Globalsecurity.org JGSDF section *Number of Tanks and Major Artillery and Performance Specifications *Number of Major Aircraft and Performance Specifications *Guided Missile Specifications *military-today.com Category:Japan Ground Self-Defense Force